Are We Really Different?
by Natsu-Hana
Summary: TsumexOC KibaxCheza HigexOC or Blue Toboex? When Tsume finds a human girl, he becomes strangely attached to her. She's unlike Cheza, but he feels this pull towards her. What could it be?
1. The Human Girl

He had been separated from the others again while looking for food. Not that it had really bothered him; he had been alone for a long time before. Tsume was always a loner, even when he was in a pack. He did things his own way, only tolerating the way of others for a small amount of time, getting angry with it after awhile.

He was a normal sized wolf with many shades of grey fur. His belly, chest, and the bridge of his canine nose were the lightest shade, while the rest was basically a darker one. On the middle of his chest was a discoloration were a scar lay in an X, the edges ragged, the color somewhat white.

The grey wolf slinked through the bushes, golden eyes spotting a lone rabbit, so juicy and yummy-looking with its plump body, as it sat, resting for awhile, probably even eating something.

Tsume took a step forward, paw digging into the dusty dirt, making a small sound. The rabbit's head snapped up, one long ear off drooping off to the side a bit, little pink nose twitching. Its beady black eyes blinked and the wolf stiffened and stood still, watching closely.

The rabbit returned to eating.

Now was his chance: now or nothing. He leapt off, missing by two centimeters and slid across the dirt and gave chase after his prey. Prey and predator zigged and zagged through bushes, over roots, and under low branches.

By now Tsume was panting and becoming annoyed with the stupid animal. Why didn't it just give up? It knew he was going to get it, so why try to run?

_Instinct._ The wolf mused, taking one final leap at the rabbit. Pure satisfaction rushed through him when teeth met with fur and meat, blood filling the wolf's mouth. The body gave one concluding twitch for escape, before becoming limp.

The prey was caught, time to eat.

And eat was what the grey wolf did; he devoured the flesh until there was nothing but bone and a few bits of bunny fur. Licking his muzzle clean of blood, Tsume sniffed the air. Water was near by and that was exactly what he wanted after eating a full meal like he did.

Of course, he could've eaten fifteen more rabbits, but one was enough for him. He didn't want to become like Hige: porky and pudgy.

His mind went wandering as he meandered through the forest, following the scent of water; large paws crunching dried twigs and leaves as he did so. It was only when he had reached the scent of water that he took in the scene that lay before him.

The source of the water came from a rather large waterfall that went into an equally large lake; that of which was surrounded by deep green thickets of brush. It was nighttime, if the full moon and the stars in the sky was anything to go by. The sky was only slightly cloudy, creating a faint haze across the heavens.

Silently, Tsume made his way to the lake and took his fill of the clear liquid, licking his chops when he was finished. He casually sniffed the atmosphere, finding it crisp and clear. His golden eyes blinked when his canine smell caught a peculiar scent; one that he just couldn't identify. He found it coming from his right, so he turned quickly.

And there sat a pile of human clothing.

The wolves sniffed again, coming closer to the fabric as if it would help him identify what the hell the scent was, even give him a clue.

He snuffled each article, getting aggravated when he still couldn't figure out what it was, and when he got his long nose stuck in a sock.

Geez, didn't he ever learn!

Tsume laid down, humiliated in his own mind. Although with others, be it human or wolf, he acted like he was mature, an adult, which he was, but he was still a pup deep inside and got curious every so often.

It was these little moments of curiosity that got him into trouble very similar to his current situation. It was always a sock, or an empty cardboard roll, or something tubular that always had him at its whim.

The wolf put his front paws on the parts of the sock that his nose didn't inhabit and tugged, pulling his head away while his paws held the article down to the ground. Finally, after much agitation and growls, he got his nose unstuck and he inhaled the crisp night air.

It was strange to him, but the scent that had come from even the sock was pleasant.

A sudden splash of water and a gasp of air from the direction of the lake drew his attention from his thoughts. The canine turn his massive grey head, gold eyes alert, ears straight up in the air, tail raised in the same manner as his ears, to stare into the eyes of a female human.

The same scent from the clothes wavered off the human girl that stood in the water, so he guessed that they belonged to her. That and the fact that she was naked gave him a clue.

Golden canine eyes traveled down the girl's body as she stood, staring and watching with curious red eyes.

She had long, raven black hair that flowed down gracefully past her hips in natural layers. Her face was only very slightly rounded, so she must've been in her teen years, he noticed. As he let his gaze travel down past her face, he saw that she was physically fit. Her breasts were nearly full in bloom, and her waist was small. All in all, she had a petite body frame.

Tsume sat down, front paws in between his hind ones, grey bushy tail lying docile behind him. He was sitting near her clothing and he saw her glance between him and her possessions.

Finally, she spoke. "Um…hi…" she said cautiously as she stepped closer to the wolf, water sloshing around her as she came closer to the bank. The wolf's eyes still watched her closely. She spoke again, "Can I, uh, have my clothes?" she questioned him, gesturing to the articles of clothing the lay beside him.

He glanced at them briefly before staring at the girl again. She apparently took his actions as a no and stood still. Pouting, she sat on her knees in the water, which lapped up to just below her chest and crossed her arms over her breasts. Then, with new resolve, she made her way to the bank and sat down on her knees again.

Tsume's tail wagged a little. This girl was amusing to him. Never had a human acted like this in front of a wolf.

But soon amusement turned to confusion, then to alertness, then to rage when she just stared directly into his canine eyes, unafraid.

The wolf growled a warning, now standing up, tail raised, ears pinned back, and his lips curled up in a snarl, showing large fangs.

But she sat unmoving, eyes piercing into his.

He leaped at her and she didn't have anytime to react, only letting out a yelp as her head hit the ground hard, knocking her breath away. She stared even now, eyes wide, not with fear, but with interest and surprise as a low growl emitted from his throat.

Another warning.

But she still stared, not getting it. Tsume growled again. He didn't like that she was continuing to stare so intensely into his eyes like she was. Especially on the full moon when his instincts were at their highest.

In one quick movement, he had given her a warning bite at the point where the side of her neck met with her shoulder. She let out a sound and her arms made a motion to grab at the wound, but the wolf's body prevented her from doing so.

She looked up again, this time not staring so deeply into his eyes like before. The girl had gotten the message now and Tsume relaxed a bit. Leaning his massive head down, his large pink tongue licked at the injury, effectively cleaning it and earning a small, almost inaudible sigh of relief and—

Pleasure!

The wolf's head moved away from her neck to find that she had moved her head to the side and was breathing deeply, her crimson eyes closed. He guessed that she was almost asleep and, with another glance at her body again, that she was naked still. Lowering his canine body down, he covered the girl as best as he could, keeping her warm and safe from the elements.

Closing his yellow eyes and licking the small bite of warning that he had given the human again, he rested his head on her chest so that he could listen to her heart, making sure that she was still alive.

And her heart beat strongly and steadily, if not as deep as her breaths. Soon, he, himself, fell asleep with the human girl whose scent had gotten him curious. One that he wouldn't soon forget.


	2. Following

Dawn was just beginning to poke its head out over the mountains when Tsume awoke the next day. The sky was in an array of colors; opening the atmosphere with a bright purple that shifted between pink and red. He watched the atmosphere and waited voicelessly as the sun, as if done searching for danger and finding the heavens the safest place to be, slowly rose into the sky, making the colors recede to be replaced by the blue color that practically screamed for a bright, sunny day.

Birds started chirping, hopping out of their nests in the trees to stare below them at the awakened wolf, and the still sleeping girl, by the lake. Squirrels and other little forest creatures soon followed suit and Tsume eyed them sleepily as they scampered out into the open. They saw him in all his canine glory and, with one quick stare at the naked human with him, scuttled away. Tsume scoffed, the noise sounding like a sneeze to even him, and some more creatures scurried away deep into the thick brush.

He glanced lazily about the clearing around him with yellow eyes, seeing the lake, the trees, the bushes; all, but one human girl. Yes, he still remembered that night where he had protected the girl from the cold as she slept peacefully, body bare and snuggling against his fur. He could still feel her fingers as they brushed his grey fur in their sleep.

Tsume looked down at the human female as if finally noticing her and his canine lips seemed to form into an awkward grin.

She had moved him, somehow, so that her head rested on the side of his belly and was facing him. He, himself, had even helped, and now he was curled protectively around her. Some of her long, dark hair was caught between her lips, and her eyes were still closed. Even this close, Tsume saw that her skin was pale and seemed like porcelain under the rising sun. He licked her cheek and swiftly moved her hair away from her mouth with his nose.

The girl stirred and her eyes slowly began to open; crimson orbs landing upon the wolf. She smiled, and her eyes shined into his. Cautiously, unsurely, her hand moved up towards him, and Tsume's ears pinned back when she placed her palm at the top of his skull. She petted him sweetly, as if he were the greatest dog, er, I mean, wolf that deserved attention, and he closed his golden eyes and let her.

Geez, now he knew that he was growing soft!_ Stupid journey for paradise has made me a pet…and for a human girl. Damn…_Tsume thought silently, yet not with bitterness or anger, surprisingly enough, but with affection.

The wolf's tail twitched back and forth and it flicked against the girl's bare back as it did so. She laughed quietly, scooting away from the bushy fur. Tsume's eyes opened, the human's hand still on his head, and licked the girl's wrist with his big pink tongue. Her hand slid from his skull to his chest, where she traced the scar that lay there carefully, eyes fascinated and focused on what she was doing.

He watched her carefully, eyes blinking leisurely down at the girl, mind silently wondering about her actions.

A light breeze made her stop and tremble, taking a glance at her attire of basically nothing, and she move to sit up, hand sliding off the wolf's chest. Silently, with graceful movements unlike any other human that the wolf had seen, she made her way to her clothing.

The girl took them in her hands, scrutinizing the fabric with her crimson orbs, and then shook each article free of dirt. She slipped on the first piece of the material; a long sleeved black shirt that hugged the curves of her chest and that of her waist. She did not bother with putting on a bra, Tsume noticed with amusement as he, too, stood and casually strolled over to her to sit by her side. She was just putting on her underwear when she saw him do this. A small smile flitted across her lips before she returned to getting dressed.

She brushed her long hair with a brush that he hadn't seen her take out, and put on her pants. They were a pair of dark blue jeans that fit snugly around her hips and seemed to exaggerate the length of her legs, making her body look shapelier than it already was.

Inside his mind, Tsume had to praise whoever made the jeans so perfect on this human.

He blinked when she walked past him in her bare feet and reached up into an extremely bushy tree, pulling down a bag that she had hidden there. The wolf blinked again; he had not noticed that. She was smart; especially when she also brought out a bow and a quiver of arrows that she slung over her back.

The human turned back to him and grinned, coming to the wolf and holding out her hand. "I don't believe we've been introduced." She said politely. After blinking a few times in confusion and silently wondering if this human was insane or not, he got the idea and put his paw in her palm awkwardly. "I'm Kaira. It's nice to meet you." She told him, shaking it gently and laughing.

Tsume's tail was starting to wag by now at her antics and Tsume leaned down to lick the hand holding his paw with his big pink tongue. Kaira laughed and ruffled the fur on top of his head, earning a small half-hearted glare in return.

"Now I have to go hunting. You stay here."

He scoffed. Who did she think he was talking to? He was a wolf! He lived for the hunt! But he 'stayed' where he was. It was only when she was out of sight that he followed her. It was easy to do this; she had such a pleasant scent that he would gladly follow it any day.

He trailed after her and ducked behind some bushes when she looked back. It was a game of hide-and-seek for the wolf. When Kaira started walking again, he came out and followed her. It went like this for an hour, until the human finally slipped into some thicket and a deer slowly ambled into the clearing. He followed suit before she saw him.

The wolf watched with amazement as the human quickly transformed into the huntress. She readied her bow and he heard the creaking of the string as she pulled it back.

The deer was a male, and a big one at that; his antlers were huge. The animal's head snapped up from eating, and its eyes searched for a predator.

Before it could do anything, an arrow pierced its shoulder and Kaira stepped out of the bushes, another arrow ready to fire. And fire it she did, hitting its side. Blood quickly flowed from the wounds. Tsume couldn't take it anymore; the deer was taking too long to die and that practically spelled trouble.

He leapt at it and Kaira gasped with surprise. She clearly hadn't been expecting him to have followed her. The wolf's jaws sunk into the animal's neck, and crimson liquid washed down his throat. No sooner that he attacked it did it drop dead; a pool of thick red water forming around it, two arrows sticking out of its body and large puncture wounds and gashes were at its neck..

Tsume unlatched his teeth from the flesh and turned to her, tail wagging slightly, only to droop between his legs. He had been panting proudly, but now his somewhat happy smile dropped like a ton of bricks and his canine ears pinned back.

The girl saw this and sighed when she reached him; she had been stomping her way over, prepared to give the wolf hell, but couldn't when do it she saw his defeated stance, the saddened expression in his golden eyes.

She ruffled the top of his head again and smiled. "Good job, boy." She said and Tsume brightened again. All had gone according to his plan to get out of being scolded. Act sad, earn sympathy, then praise and you're off the hook.

He was an evil wolf, by god, and he loved it all the way.

Kaira had cut a portion of the meat for herself and let Tsume had the rest. Little did she know that three pairs of canine eyes watched her do her job hungrily. But the grey wolf did and he growled; sending a warning for the other wolves not to touch the human. Said human looked at him curiously and looked about, wondering, before she shrugged and continued to prepare the meat to be cooked later.

She glance up and she saw three sets of four paws, one set white, another with one leg having many silver bracelets on, and a rusty orange set. She looked up and her eyes met with three different pairs of wolf eyes.


	3. The Scent of Flowers

She was speechless. The wolves had her frozen on the spot and they knew it.

The wolf that was closest to her was a pure white, and stood in front of the others; he was probably the leader, she realized. His golden eyes were serious and filled with an underlying purpose; what it was she didn't, and couldn't, even guess.

Another one, who she guessed was younger by just looking at him, was a tan color, and his eyes were a honey colored amber. Those eyes shone with an innocence and curiosity that was barely contained.

Before she could inspect the last one of the three, the one that was slightly fatter than the other two and had a black collar around his neck, he silently made his way to the deer carcass that she was near.

Kaira swiveled her head to glare at him; she, with the help of the grey wolf behind her, of course, had worked for that damn piece of deer and she wasn't about to let him take it! She took up her bow and made ready an arrow. The wolf stopped mid-step to stare at her, looking at her at the corner of his eyes as the almost red orbs widened, jaws half open in the process of taking a bite out of the dead animal. The girl almost laughed out loud at the sight, but she forced her eyes to stay glaring and cold.

It was then, she noticed, that the grey wolf, whom she hoped was her companion and not her enemy, stepped up to her. He growled and snapped at the other wolf, which backed away quickly. Kaira looked at the grey canine and smiled, "Thanks, boy." She grinned a little.

She really needed to name this wolf; it was going to get annoying for both him and her if she kept on calling him "boy".

The wolf nodded, so she turned towards the other wolves, but she didn't see them; in their place were three boys. One had shaggy red-orange hair and the same collar around his neck, but now it was too large and seemed to be kind of kinky if you really thought about it. He wore a yellow hoodie, baggy, with navy blue strips going down the sides of the arms; he looked to be sixteen or seventeen, though, and had a sheepish grin.

He was close to a boy for protection, and she realized that the one he somewhat hid behind was the white wolf in his true form.

The boy had dark brown, almost black hair and icy blue eyes that pierced through just about anything's soul. He wore tight jeans and a white shirt on underneath a black jacket. He had his hands in his pockets and was regarding her coolly, as if he knew that she would not harm them. The boy looked to be nineteen.

On the other side of the dark haired boy stood a younger one, probably only fourteen, like her, with light brown hair that went down to just above his shoulders. He was smiling at her with his chocolate brown eyes. He was adorned in a tight, red, zip up shirt and was wearing light colored jeans and sneakers. She couldn't help, but grin back at the boy as she put her thumbs in her jeans pockets.

He took this as his cue to speak so he stepped forward casually. "Hi," He said, "I'm Toboe." He pointed at himself, and then to the dark haired guy next to him, "That's Kiba. That's Hige." Toboe pointed to the collared one who looked like he was about to die, for what reason she didn't know. Then Toboe pointed to the grey wolf that stood behind her, "And that's Tsume."

Kaira turned to the grey wolf, half expecting for him to have a human guise over him, but he didn't. He just sat down in his wolf form and looked up at her with unreadable golden eyes.

"So this is your pack, huh, Tsume?" The girl asked him. Tsume scoffed, the noise more like a sneeze than anything, and licked his paw. She noticed that there was blood there, along with a cut. _He must've gotten it while attacking the buck._ Kaira thought as she walked over to the grey wolf. He stopped mid-lick to watch her, and curiosity and bewilderment sparkled in his eyes.

She kneeled before him and took the huge paw in her hands, inspecting the cut. The grey wolf watched her closely and woofed questioningly, pulling his paw out of her grasp and licking at it again.

Kaira sighed, "Fine! If you don't want me to help then I won't!" She pouted a little and gave him a glare, which she deliberately made weak to gather sympathy.

Tsume cocked his head to the side, shook his head, and put his paw in her hand again. At this, the girl grinned and patted the wolf's head; a low sound from Tsume was his thank you.

Behind the two, she could one of the wolves whisper, "Geez…she has Tsume tied around her little finger…"

Toboe answered, "Yeah, I thought he hated humans…though, he did own a gang of humans the first time we met him…"

"That doesn't mean that he liked them. He probably only tolerated them." This voice was different from the first, a little bit deeper and calmer. She guessed this was Kiba and first was Hige.

"I just don't get it…was he with her last night when he went hunting?"

Kaira could hear a growl deep in the grey wolf's throat. "Hey! We can hear you, you know!" She told them with a grin, not looking away from cleaning Tsume's paw. Tsume growled at the two wolves and Kaira laughed. She set the paw down carefully to the ground and smiled, standing up. She saw Hige, in his rusty wolf form, sniffing at the dead carcass of the deer.

"You guys can have that if you want; I've got what I need." She told them, glancing at each of them. Hige's tongue lolled out his mouth, Kiba, who had dropped his human illusion, nodded, Toboe looked between her and the buck suggestively, and Tsume just scoffed and shook his head.

She turned to gather firewood so that she would be warm for the night, but stopped in step, she spun on her heel to face them for a brief moment and they looked at her questioningly. "By the way, my name's Kaira. Tsume already knows that. Now, I'm gonna go get firewood." With that, the girl spun on her heel again and started walking.

"Hey, I'll go with you!" Toboe yelled as he caught up with her, paws thumping against the dirt ground. Kaira said something that the three older wolves couldn't hear, and soon they faded from sight and into the darkness of the forest.

"So," Hige turned to Tsume and grinned as his slightly red eyes glinted.

Tsume glared and growled. "What do you want, Porky?" He snarled, golden eyes set in an impatient glower as they regarded the pudgy wolf.

"Did you stay with her all through the night?"

The oldest scoffed and lay down with his front paws crossed and his head resting on them. "It's none of your business. Just go get yourself fat like you usually do."

The rusty colored wolf glared, but continued eating again, grumbling about how he got no respect and various curses about a certain scarred wolf.

"What was that, Porky?"

Hige grumbled again. "Nothing." He swallowed another chunk of raw meat. "You pompous, irritable…"

Tsume growled. The wolf shut up with a glare.

Kiba, who was currently chewing on a rather delicious piece of meat that was stuck on a rib bone, paid no mind to the two. They fought most of the time when it came to insults about Hige's weight, and that always led to him or the pup having to break them up. Although, he had to admit, Hige did put up a good point. "When did you meet the girl, Tsume? And why were you with her?" The white wolf asked, licking his chops free of blood. He gave Tsume a stare that would've made anyone crack under pressure, but Tsume didn't see it; he was facing the other way.

A grunt. "Hmph. Like I'd tell you."

And the matter ended there while the two continued eating and the third just slept peacefully. The grey wolf's paw twitched once or twice, and then stilled. He dreamt of a time, when he was, but a pup, and he was taken in from the cold, icy rain and the harsh winds by a young girl with long black hair and kind crimson eyes…

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_Okay, guys. I know that I haven't been putting these little "author's notes" in lately. I'm sorry for that, but I sometimes get annoyed with it. Oh, well, it's not like anyone bothers to read them. If you do, then good for you and that makes me happy!_

_Anyway, I'd like to the people who reviewed, but I only remember a few of them. There's _Daemon98_, who reviewed for both chapters. Thank you, _Daemon98_! And then there's _Rae_, who reviewed for the second chapter. Thanks. Then there's a really nice reviewer who told me that she had been wondering why I kept Tsume in his wolf form in the first chapter, then said she liked that I did so. I thank you…even though I don't remember you're name. Urg…sorry! But this person reviewed for the second chapter._

_I hope I didn't have Tsume or the others OOC or something. This is my first Wolf's Rain fanfic, so I hope I did well on them talking and their actions. I always have a problem with that. I hope you all like this chapter!_

_Signed,_

_Natsu Hana_


	4. A Note From Natsu

**A Note From The Author: **Hello, everyone; this is Natsu Hana. I must apologize. I have not been creating a new chapter for this story, but, instead, I have been writing a book. This week, I realized that you all must despise me now, and will probably want to choke the living daylights out of me.

My writing ability, since last year, and maybe the year before, has grown. I'm reading over this story "Are We Really Different?", and feel a great need and urge to rewrite it, so that it's better, and will have a more…in depth storyline.

If you wish, you may email me at this address: f e l t o n 2 4 4 1 y a h o o . c o m, and I will send you the preface of my book Falcon. It is not completed, yet, but it is getting there. When it is done, I will most likely copywrite it, and then send it to Little Brown, the young adult publishing company, to publish it.

Anyways…I'll see what I can do for this story. smiles

Sincerely,

Natsu Hana.


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